1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to oil production equipment, and more particularly to systems and methods for configuring stators for downhole electric motors.
2. Related Art
Equipment used in the production of oil is very specialized and very costly. As a result, it is not cost effective for many companies that manufacture this equipment to have many manufacturing facilities. It is more cost effective to centralize the manufacture of the equipment in one facility (or very few facilities) and to ship the equipment to the various customers that will use it in their operations.
Because oil is produced throughout the world, the customers of a company that manufactures oil production equipment may be located far from the company's manufacturing facility. Consequently, it may take weeks or even months to ship equipment from the manufacturer's facility to the customers' locations. This can be problematic because, when a customer's existing equipment fails and replacement equipment is needed, the customer's oil production operations may have to be suspended while the customer waits for the replacement equipment. Such interruptions in the customer's operations are typically very costly in terms of lost production.
Manufacturers of oil production equipment may alleviate this problem to some extent by providing regional distribution facilities. While the equipment is manufactured in one facility, the equipment is shipped to the regional distribution facilities, where it is stored until being purchased by a customer that is within the corresponding region. Then, when a customer needs a piece of equipment, it can be shipped to the customer from the regional facility, thereby reducing the delivery time from weeks or months to days.
While the use of regional distribution facilities reduces the impact of shipping delays on the customer, it can be costly for the equipment manufacturer. As noted above, the equipment is very specialized, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to accurately gauge customer's needs for new equipment, particularly when the need arises from the unexpected failure of existing equipment. It is therefore necessary for the regional distribution facilities to stock at least one of each piece of equipment that may be needed by the customers on short notice. Because of the many different pieces of equipment that may be needed, and the cost of the equipment, it can be very costly for the equipment manufacturer to stock the regional distribution facilities.
It would therefore be desirable to provide means for manufacturers of oil production equipment to reduce the cost associated with providing this equipment to customers in a timely fashion.